


I'm Coming Back With The Thunder

by Blackparade



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky takes him on a road trip instead, Everyone else is just mentioned pretty much, F/M, M/M, Sam and Bucky are soft BFFs and I love them, Sam is too precious for this world, Sam needs a vacation, So is Bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2015-09-17
Packaged: 2018-04-21 06:39:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4818929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blackparade/pseuds/Blackparade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They stay in a companionable silence. Sam has told many, many stories about this place to Steve and Bucky. He used to run suicides here back in high school. Had his first kiss with the girl next door here at fourteen. Later, he would run laps with Riley around this very same park. This is also the park that Riley chose to propose to his wife in. He is lost in the happy memories, when Bucky lightly bumps his side, and gives him a knowing smile, as they come upon a massive fountain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Coming Back With The Thunder

Sam Wilson isn't quite sure what his life has become. Take for example his roster of best friends. Two master assassins, a billionaire/playboy/genius/philanthropist, a witch, an android, an ant man, a demigod, a HULK, and two living war legends. At least Rhodey and Pepper are normal. 

All things considered, he wouldn't change a thing. He finally feels as if he has a purpose. He finally knows what he's still living for; not feeling as if he should have died with Riley. He hopes his friend would be proud of him.

Stark tower, which is normally flooded with Avengers, is actually quiet this morning.

He just returned last night from his first solo mission in Bhutan. He performed so well, that Commander Hill said she'd consider dinner and a movie with him, rather than immediately turning him down.

Steve, Clint, and Scott are currently running a covert op somewhere in Central America. Tony whisked Pepper away to Venice, Natasha didn't say where she was going when she left the tower the day before, and everyone was smart enough not to ask. Thor had left briefly to visit Jane, and had taken Wanda and Vision with him. Rhodes was speaking at a seminar, leaving Sam, Bucky, and Bruce the only ones occupying the tower.

\-----

It's early. Just a few minutes past six in the morning when Sam hears the elevator stop at his floor, and Bucky walks out, already dressed for the day.

"Morning, sunshine," Bucky knows exactly the type of response that his greeting will elicit, judging by the smirk on his face.

"No. It's too damn early for whatever you want to do. I'm not like your boyfriend. I can't function before, at the very earliest, eight a.m."

Bucky continues smirking as he sits across from him at the breakfast bar.  
"Go take a shower. I have a big day planned for us."

Sam knows the look he's wearing must be incredulous, if the small laugh that escapes Bucky's lips is anything to go by.

"Do I get a say in this?"  
Bucky doesn't answer, just keeps smiling.

"Yeah. I thought so."

He most definitely does not sulk like a child the entire way to the bathroom.

\-----

When he comes back into the room,  
Bucky hands him a fresh cup of coffee.  
He eyes it cautiously before sitting back down and taking a sip. 

"This isn't half bad, actually. I'm impressed."

That earns him a smack on the arm, but an honest laugh nonetheless.

"You guys are basically cheating with these fancy machines. I used to have to use acorns for coffee grounds. The one on Nat and Clint's floor is even worse. I don't even know how to pronounce Keurig, let alone use one."

Sam gives his friend an affectionate eye roll, and then places the mug on the table.  
"Alright. What did you do?"

Bucky stops and turns to look back at him.  
"What are you insinuating?"

"Well. Two weeks ago when you came by, under the pretense of 'just wanting to make my pal a hearty breakfast', Clint came barging in not that long after soaked from head to toe in chocolate milk, and I had to cover for your manipulative ass."

Bucky pulls a guilty smile.  
"He was really pissed, wasn't he?"

Sam isn't mad. He loves these idiots.  
"You should have seen him when he first barged in here. I wish I had taken a picture."

Bucky still has a small smile on his lips, but looks right at Sam,  
"I figure since everyone is gone, we can do something fun. Like.... Take a road trip in a company car without Tony's knowledge."

Whoop, there it is.  
Wait? Road trip? He sounds sincere, but why?

"Road trip. Where?"  
He is half-expecting to hear something wild like Vegas or the Grand Canyon,

"What? And ruin the surprise?"

And he is back to questioning why he is friends with this guy.

"Don't pull that face, Wilson. I've been bored out of my mind! I got back from my op in Morocco with just enough time for one date with Steve, AND he took Clint with him, AND Nat is gone, AND to top it all off, you were gone for the past two days. Please don't ruin this for me."

Sam feels himself cracking. Damn adorable super-soldier.

"You missed me? That's really sweet."

Bucky looks like he's gearing up to hit him again,

"No need for violence. Let me grab my phone and wallet, and I'll humor you on this excursion."  
He makes to grab said items, but stops and turns back to his friend,  
"But I'm picking the music."

\-----

"JARVIS, please let Bruce know the tower is his for the day."  
"Absolutely, Sergeant Barnes." 

Being as early as it is, the tower is not yet open for the business end of it's operation. The two are walking through the empty garage on the ground floor, when Bucky suddenly stops in front of a very expensive looking Mercedes. 

Sam grabs his wrist before he can do anything.  
"Do you even know how to drive?"  
"Of course I know how to drive."  
"No. I'm not talking tanks and quinjets or whatever Shield has us use, I'm talking an expensive ass sports car."  
Bucky looks offended.  
"I have known how to drive since 1939, thank you very much."  
Sam eyes him even more accusatively then,  
"Well, do you have a license?"  
"..................."  
"Maybe you should drive."  
"Mmmmhhhmmm."

They buckle in, and once they hit the freeway, Bucky enters in the coordinates of their destination into the GPS.

"D.C.? Do you remember what happened the last time we were there?"

Bucky gives his best innocent grin, and places a hand on Sam's shoulder.  
"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Sam decides to humor him.  
"Well, I made the mistake of befriending Captain America and Black Widow. They barged all up in my house, ate my food, used all my hot water, hid the remote. You know, real sick shit. Then, some weird dude with unruly ass hair destroyed my brand new lease, and had his thug friends try and kill me. Then, that same guy ripped one of my wings off and kicked me off of a roof. I guess it all turned out alright, though. Apparently that guy now has, how did he put it? 'The hottest and sweetest boyfriend on the planet'."

Bucky barks out a laugh before covering his mouth in embarrassment.  
"This guy sounds great. You should introduce me to him."

Sam has an evil grin on his face now.  
"He can be kind of an asshole."

He decides the smack on the side of his head is worth it.

He reaches for the radio then, and almost jumps out of his seat when he hears the song that is playing.  
"Oooohhhh. This is a classic."

Bucky has a very analyzing face on.

Sam just sings along to the song.

"O is for other, P is for people, scratch your temple. The last P well, that's not that simple."

As he continues, he watches Bucky's face go from one of amusement, to confusion, to horror.

"Sam! This is really dirty!"  
Sam takes his turn to smack Bucky's arm.  
"Don't give me that! I hear the way you speak! You damn near broke Thor when he overheard Steve driving you into a wall in that utility closet the other day."  
"Oh my God. He heard that?"  
"Sure did. He very modestly warned us that the two of you were 'Expressing your centuries long devotion in the most intimate of manners'. I know you guys are making up for a lot of lost time, but you couldn't even make it back to your floor?"  
"It's Steve! It's always Steve. He has everyone thinking he's some little angel, when I was always the one getting him out of trouble. My ideal date is a museum for fuck's sake."

Sam just claps his friend on the shoulder.  
"Whatever you say, kiddo."

The opening chords to "Good Vibrations" start playing, and surprisingly, Bucky's face lights up.

"Holy crap! I actually know this one!"

He pulls out his phone, and records himself and Sam trying and failing to sing the chorus, and sends the snap to the whole team.  
Clint sends back a picture of Steve sleeping in a far to small hammock, which Bucky immediately screenshots, and Nat sends back a snap that very rudely says 'I envy the deaf'.

\-----

It's almost noon when Sam realizes he hasn't eaten yet.  
"I'm starving. I'm stopping at this McDonalds."  
Bucky is smiling shyly at him.  
"I have actually never been to McDonalds."  
Sam thinks he heard him right. He wants to make sure, though.  
"Never been to..... No. That's not acceptable."

He pulls the car into the drive thru, and orders two Big Mac combos with Coca Cola.  
"You have had Coca Cola, right?"  
"I was captured in 1943, not 1843 Sam."

He parks the car, and immediately has half the sandwich in his mouth, when he looks over at Bucky, who is raising the bun to peer down at what lies underneath.  
He slowly raises the burger to his mouth, and takes a small bite.  
Sam wants to throw his hands in the air victoriously when he sees the small smile that comes across his friends face.  
It's little triumphs like this. Little everyday pleasantries that people like him would take for granted that mean the world to Bucky. He spent most of the last decade thinking he was nothing more than a weapon, and Sam in his counseling, had fought tooth and nail to show his friend that he was worthy of feeling emotions. Worthy of allowing himself enjoyment.  
It's all made even better when Bucky takes a handful of fries, and throws them in his mouth.  
"Holy shit. These are like manna from Heaven."  
"You can thank me later."

\-----

About twenty minutes later, the two are pulling up to their destination.

"Georgetown Waterfront?"  
"I'm not telling you anything yet, Sam. Don't even ask."  
Sam huffs out a protest, but Bucky is already out of the car.  
He makes sure everything is locked up, and then picks up his pace to fall into stride beside the other man.

They stay in a companionable silence. Sam has told many, many stories about this place to Steve and Bucky. He used to run suicides here back in high school. Had his first kiss with the girl next door here at fourteen. Later, he would run laps with Riley around this very same park. This is also the park that Riley chose to propose to his wife in. He is lost in the happy memories, when Bucky lightly bumps his side, and gives him a knowing smile, as they come upon a massive fountain.

"I don't ever remember this being here before."  
Bucky wraps his hand around Sam's elbow, and pulls him up the steps to a small placard at the front edge of the structure.

"It was just built a few weeks ago. I got a call from the Historical Society here in the city saying that they wanted to honor America's longest serving prisoner of war with a fountain in Georgetown Waterfront, but I had a better idea."

Sam gives him a quizzical look, but Bucky just motions for him to read the placard.

Sam steps forward, and starts to read it aloud.  
"This monument is given by Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes of the 107th regiment in honor of......."  
He feels the tears already stinging his eyes.  
Too many emotions hit him at once when he sees Riley's name displayed in gold. He has for the past two years tried to memorialize his friend through the work that he did, and the stories he told, but to see something so tangible; It feels like a massive weight has left his chest. This is something the whole world can see. Something Riley's wife can visit, and know that his sacrifice hasn't been forgotten.  
He holds himself together long enough to pull Bucky into a bone-crushing hug. He just stands there, and let's the tears he's been holding in all this time fall. Bucky just rubs comforting circles into his back. 

"Bucky. Thank you. Thank you so much."  
"For everything I've put you through, all the times you've helped me, this is the least I can do."

Sam has needed this for too long. He's always lending his shoulder for one of his teammates to cry on. He's always staying strong for everyone. He can't count the many nights that he would race to Steve and Bucky's floor in the middle of the night to calm Bucky down after a nightmare, or help Tony with his lingering PTSD, or even Clint who was still dealing with the effects Loki had on his mind.  
He hasn't had people care for him so much since he lost Riley, and with that realization, he hugs Bucky even tighter.  
"You're my best friend, you know that Barnes?"  
"I'm nothing special, but yeah. You're my best friend too."

He finally untangles from his friend to look at the golden memorial again. He takes a picture on his phone, and saves it in his gallery. Later, he will take the time to make the perfect post for his social media pages, so the whole world can see The Falcon's inspiration and purpose for fighting alongside the Avengers.

He starts to wipe at his eyes. He is decidedly the happiest he's been in a long time. Being here gives him such a sense of nostalgia, and pride in his friend, and love for the friends he has now. 

Bucky saunters up next to him again.  
"Try to hold onto this feeling, because Tony is pretty pissed about us taking the Mercedes, so I told him it was your idea."

By the time Sam registers what Bucky is saying to him, the other man is already sprinting away.  
"Wait, what the Hell!? BUCKY!!!!"

He can't help but laugh when his best friend hollers back,  
"WHO THE HELL IS BUCKY?"

**Author's Note:**

> Someone give Sam Wilson a hug and tell him how important he is please and thank you.


End file.
